THE NEST by Jan Tyrpekl, Czech Republic

The „Nest” was born out of the desire to build and experiment. It came into existence without any investors, sponsors, assignment or any project documentation. I have chosen the location to be a place I knew well – the park in my hometown and I arranged it with the owner of the plot. The building material was paid by myself. The aim was to build a house in a tree-top – a nest made by a single material and without any joints. Not to damage the tree was also an important priority. The starting shape was a sphere of a diameter 3 meters that was during the work evolved into an organic shape and adapted to the specific tree-top. The “Nest” is a light structure interlaced in between the branches of the tree. It only touches the tree. We did not use any joints, ropes, tapes or nails. Nowadays the “Nest” is used as a shelter and a playground for local children. But it can bear up to 3 adults. The weight of the structure is about 80 kg, loading capacity 250 kg. When its life span is over it will turn into only biological waste and the tree will be unchanged. The whole structure was built with friends during a 2 day workshop.